eforma: Sergio Sarmiento*
Nov. 15, 2019
The official story considers Hernán Cortés to be a villain, perhaps the greatest of all time, as Enrique Krauze suggested. President López Obrador has demanded an apology from the Spanish crown for his actions, which he has not demanded from Washington for the intervention of 1847 [in the U.S., the so-called Mexican-American War]. In contrast, José Vasconcelos considered Cortés "the creator of Mexican nationality," Juan Miralles "the inventor of Mexico "and Christian Duverger" a Spanish man who became indigenous".
Nov. 15, 2019
The official story considers Hernán Cortés to be a villain, perhaps the greatest of all time, as Enrique Krauze suggested. President López Obrador has demanded an apology from the Spanish crown for his actions, which he has not demanded from Washington for the intervention of 1847 [in the U.S., the so-called Mexican-American War]. In contrast, José Vasconcelos considered Cortés "the creator of Mexican nationality," Juan Miralles "the inventor of Mexico "and Christian Duverger" a Spanish man who became indigenous".
MV Note: Cortés began his esploration around the Yucatán Peninsula, which forms the east side of the Gulf of Mexico, separating the Gulf from the Caribbean Sea. Then, in late spring of 1519, he landed on the westen coast of the Gulf in what is now the state of Veracruz. He quickly learned from the indigenous residents that a major empire existed at the center of the land, that of the Mexica (Meh-SHE.kah), now known as the Azteca.
Although his commission from the governor of Cuba was only to explore the coastline, he had prepared for this possibility by secretly bringing soldiers with muskets, canons, horses and war dogs. So, he determined to move inland and conquer the empire. He astutely gained the support of various tribes who had been forced by the Mexica to pay tribute or, via wars, provide captives for ritual sacrifices. They were pleased by the opportunity to overthrow them and, possibly, gain greater power for themselves by earning Cortés' favor.
With these reinforcements, Cortés set out to climb the mountains that form the Sierra Madre Oriental (Eastern Mother Mountain Range). Once in the high cenrtal plateau (aka the Altiplano, averaging 1,825 m (6,000 ft) above sea level), he gained further allies.
This occurred in one of two ways. Cortés presented the rulers of each new altepetl (city-state) that he encountered with a choice,
Either:
- submit to him and to his now-superior forces,
- acknowledge the King of Spain, whom he claimed to legitmately represent, as their true ruler,
- reject their current gods (who revealed their impotence in the face of his weapons and indigenous allies) and convert to Spanish Roman Catolicism.
- If they did so, they would be treated with favor by him and the King of Spain, keeping control of their lands and internal-self government (called "uses and customs").
(Of course, Cortés had no legitimate authority from either the Spanish governor of Cuba or the King. During his campaign, he wrote a series of long letters to King Charles I describing in detail his actions and the reason for them--to give Spain an empire in the New World, thereby seeking the King's official approval of his actions. They are published in English as Letters from Mexico.)
Or:
- if they refused, be brutally attacked, inevitably defeated and forced to surrender. They would still have to convert to Catholicism, but would lose control of their lands.
In November 1519, exacly five hyndred years ago this month, Cortés and his forces crossed the mountain pass leading into what he would call the Valley of Mexico. In the face of his overwhelming indigenous support and his European weapons, Moctezuma the Younger, the ruler of the Mexica, decided to receive him and inivte him into Tenochtitlan. Cortés and his retinue took up residence in the royal palace.
However, in June of 1520, while Cortés was in Veracruz, his troops massacred many priests and nobility during a Mexica fiesta. When Cortés returned, he, his troops and indigenous allies were forced to flee during la Noche Triste, the Sad or Tragic Night.
A year later, in the summer of 1521, Cortés, with his Spanish troops and thousands of indigenous warriors, returned to the Valley of Mexico, took contol of the cities around Lake Texcoco and the entrances to the causeways leading toTenochtitlan. He also brought and assembled a fleet of small ships to control the lake. He then beseiged the city, defeating the Mexica, and declared and undertook the founding of Nueva España, New Spain. (See our post on our companion blog, Mexico City Ambles: Templo Mayor: The Buried Heart of Mexico.)
José Luis Martínez argued:
"Like almost all mortals, Hernán Cortés was a contradictory fabric of goods and evils, of just and unfair acts, of greatness and misery, of courage and cruelty, of nobility and crimes."Octavio Paz stated:
"As soon as Cortés ceases to be an ahistorical myth and becomes what he really is - a historical character - Mexicans will be able to see themselves with a clearer, more generous and serene look."The disqualification of Cortés is the product of an official story that reduces the Mexican nation to a simple descendant of an indigenous people without the input of anyone else. "They conquered us," say the defenders of this version, as if Mexico came from nothing more than the Mexica [tribe which controlled central Mexico from 1428 to 1521 from their capital of Tenochtitlan, now the center of Mexico City].
The truth is much more complex. A more correct phrase would be: "We conquered ourselves." Ninety-three percent of the Mexican population is mestizo [mixed indigenous and Spanish heritage], as a study by the Molecular Genetics Research Institute of the University Center of Ciénega [in Guadalajara] pointed out in 2009, but the war against Tenochtitlan was made by a small group of Spaniards who hardly would have triumphed without the decisive support of the Tlaxcalteca and other subject indigenous peoples who suffered bloody periodic wars in which the Mexica captured prisoners to sacrifice them.
Gonzalo Guerrero, who was shipwrecked in Maya territory [on the Yucatán Peninsula] in 1511 and underwent a process of acculturation to the extent that he eventually became a cacique [chief] and opposed Cortés [when he arrived in 1519], has been considered the father of miscegenation in Mexico. Cortés, however, marked a milestone with his romantic relationship with Marina (Malinalli, Malintzin or Malinche) from which the mestizo Martín Cortés was born. That is why he has been considered the father of the Mexican nation. Marina would, of course, be the mother.
Cortés was also the first supporter of (Mexican) independence (from Spain). Once he conquered Tenochtitlan, he wanted to rule the lands he already dominated, but King Charles of Spain denied him command. It is true that he was appointed a royal governor and captain general, before becoming the Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, but he was never made viceroy [the ruler of Nueva España appointed by the king] or the power he held recognized. Cortes considered rebelling and creating an independent kingdom, but eventually, he handed over the government to Carlos's envoys. After a while, he sailed back to Spain to search in vain for royal recognition.
Despite the official condemnation, Cortés has never ceased to fascinate. That is why there have been so many literary works, biographies and studies about his person. Now, 500 years later, it's coming to the screens. In the next few days, the producers Dopamine and Onza will present the Hernán series on TV Azteca (a company with which I collaborate), the History Channel and Amazon Prime, with Óscar Jaenada as Cortés. Steven Spielberg is preparing another version, with Javier Bardem in the lead role. Hopefully, these series will refute his treatment as the irredeemable villain that the official history has given him and understand Cortés as that historical character of lights and shadows that he really was.
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*Sergio Sarmiento holds a degree in philosophy from the York University of Toronto. He was editorial director of Encyclopaedia Britannica in Latin America and Spain from 1978 to 1994. He directed the Hispanic Encyclopedia. He has collaborated with El Norte since 1989 and Reforma since 1994, where he is a daily columnist. He was vice president of news for TV Azteca. He was moderator of the program "The Interview with Sarmiento" and other radio and television programs. He is a Knight of the Order of Letters and Arts of France. @SergioSarmiento